Hinkley: Buyouts and waterbottles

Living safely in the shadow of PG&E and its pipeline compressor station isn't just about cleaning tainted water.

Part of the giant utility's remedy for residents involves buying their property or providing them drinking water that doesn't come from a Hinkley well.

Late last year, PG&E gave 300 Hinkley families living within a mile of the town's groundwater plume the choice to have PG&E supply their homes with water treatment systems or allow PG&E to buy their homes.

In the final tally, 174 accepted PG&E buyouts -- 44 were in escrow and 130 have closed -- and 39 opted for whole-household water replacement systems custom-built to meet requirements set by the state agency overseeing the water cleanup.

After a series of community meetings, PG&E learned that some residents wanted to stay and find a solution to their problem, and others wanted to leave.

"We never thought it was our right, our prerogative to tell people what they should do," PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said. "A lot more people took the home buyout than originally anticipated."

Records show PG&E has bought property in Hinkley since before 1993, when Erin Brockovich was helping on the early research that ultimately led to a groundbreaking legal settlement with PG&E.

PG&E says it owns 2,595 acres in Hinkley. From 2003 to 2010, the company said it purchased slightly less than 793 acres. From 2011 to June 2013, it purchased nearly 1,265 acres.

Along with buyouts has come bottled water.

PG&E provides bottled water to about 300 households in Hinkley. It was also providing drinking water to students at the now-closed Hinkley Elementary/Middle School.

In January, PG&E was cited for providing bottled water to residents that exceeded levels set by the regional water board.

The regulatory agency alleged that water bottles PG&E provided to some residents in August and September of 2012 contained chromium-6 concentrations greater than the 0.06 parts per billion.

If a 1,000-page environmental impact report gets the final OK from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board -- which will likely occur at its meeting Wednesday -- PG&E plans to expand ethanol and agricultural treatment areas significantly.

"We are going to go after the hot spots," said Kevin Sullivan of PG&E.